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Horror Movie News: Nia DaCosta to direct Candyman “reboot”

Candyman.. Candyman.. Candyman.. Candyman..

As we reported in September, Jordan Peele [writer/director of Get Out (2017)] was thinking about producing a brand new Candyman movie… and our wishes have come true! Peele and his production company, Monkeypaw Productions, are partnering with MGM Pictures to produce a “spiritual sequel” to the 1992 horror classic.

Nia DaCosta

As our own Scariest Eric pointed out back in September, the original Candyman was written/directed by a white man (Bernard Rose) and based on another white guy’s short story (“The Forbidden” by Clive Barker) while the legend of The Candyman has to do with slavery, interracial romance, and persecution. Which is why we’re all very excited to hear the announcement that Nia DaCosta, the up and coming writer/director of festival fave Little Woods (2018), will be directing this new film.

It’ll be great to see where Peele’s influence and DaCosta’s direction will take this new movie. As president of the MGM Motion Picture Group said:

They have created a story that will not only pay reverence to Clive Barker’s haunting and brilliant source material but is also thoroughly modern and will bring in a whole new generation of fans.

And Jordan Peele is just as excited saying:

The original was a landmark film for black representation in the horror genre. Alongside Night of the Living Dead, Candyman was a major inspiration for me as filmmaker — and to have a bold new talent like Nia at the helm of this project is truly exciting. We are honored to bring the next chapter in the Candyman canon to life and eager to provide new audiences with an entry point to Clive Barker’s legend.

Jordan Peele

The new Candyman is being talked about as a “spiritual sequel” to the original 1992 film. We’ll be returning to the section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects used to stand, but which has since been gentrified. Will Candyman be terrorizing gluten-free bakeries and carving up latté sipping hipsters with his hook? We can only hope.

Filming is set to begin this spring with an announced release date of June 12, 2020.